Altenberger Status Dims Illini Win

Unfortunately, everybody in Assembly Hall Friday night--including Altenberger--knew that he earned only a ``D`` for results. That`s ``D`` as in discouragement, a stark fact that cast a pall over Illinois` 79-56 rout of Eastern Kentucky in the opening game of the Illini Classic. It was the 200th victory at Illinois for coach Lou Henson, who`s in his 11th season.

Murray State and Utah State met in the second game.

``It doesn`t look very good,`` admitted a glum Altenberger after testing his sore right knee for 16 minutes in Friday`s romp. ``You guys saw me play last year. It`s obvious I`m not the same basketball player.``

The guard had arthroscopic surgery on his knee in September, but reinjured it Nov. 8 during an intrasquad scrimmage. It happened in the gym at Peoria Richwoods High School, where Altenberger had become an all-state player.

``It`s affecting me mentally because I can`t do some things I want to on the court,`` Altenberger said. ``I never thought about red-shirting until last week, but I have to make a decision. This thing is becoming a joke.``

Unless some miracle cure is found in the next few days to restore Altenberger`s mobility, it`s apparent the decision will be to sit out this season.

That would deal a crippling blow to Illini hopes in the Big 10 race. Henson was counting on the 6-foot-4-inch senior to be the glue in the Illinois defense, swinging from guard to forward to shut down high-scoring opponents.

``We wanted to test Doug`s knee and give him some rest before we play at Tennessee next Tuesday,`` said Henson. ``He`s out of shape and not all there yet, but you can still see him out there doing little things that really help the club.``

Once again, as in Wednesday`s 84-34 massacre of Wisconsin-Green Bay, the Illini (4-1) did almost as they pleased in the tourney opener. They jumped to an 8-0 lead over Eastern Kentucky (2-2) and already had the game locked up when Bruce Douglas` steal and layup pushed the score to 25-10 with 9 minutes 9 seconds left in the first half.

The Illini found it so easy to get inside against Eastern that their level of concentration began to waver while the score mounted. The outmanned, undersized Colonels had only one effective weapon, guard Tony Parris, and he was limited to six points in the opening half.

Illinois led 39-20 at the intermission, making its seventh straight appearance in the final of the Illini Classic a foregone conclusion. The Illini have won the tournament in each of the first six years of its short existence.

Henson wanted his players to work on some offensive lapses he spotted in the initial 20 minutes, so the defense permitted Eastern Kentucky to pour in 36 points in the second half. That was two points more than Wisconsin-Green Bay had managed all night.

``We wanted this to be a learning experience, and the first thing we learned was to bring a couple of 6-10 guys next time we play Illinois,`` said Eastern Kentucky coach Max Good. ``Their game plan was to take the ball inside and pound it down our throat early.

``They`re not just big players. All of them can put the ball on the floor. We were never in a comfort shooting game, because some 6-8 people had a hand in our faces almost every time.``

Despite that, sharpshooter Parris found the range for 26 points in the second half. The 6-2 guard was only 10-for-22 from the floor but finished with a game-high 32 points.

``Parris can play for any team in any league,`` Good insisted. ``I just wish we had the kind of balance Illinois showed us on offense. This could have been a 40-point whipping for us, but we didn`t get demoralized.

``If the Boston Celtics called tonight and wanted to play my team, all we`d need is a way to get there.``